The start of a Journey
by 117Jorn
Summary: One-shot/Multi-Shot. For years, the elemental nations have never wondered what lied beyond their own boarders, what else was out there in their world? Naru Uzumaki shall now set out with Ryu Hisanaga, Jaden Takeo, Hitomi Yamato, and Takeshi Yamato as they explore the world they live in, and discover new friends, and greater enemies... Prologue to future fics! Fem-Naru!


Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

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**Konohagakure - Elemental Nations**

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It had been nearly two years since the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. After the defeat of Tobi, Madara, and the Akatsuki the Elemental Nations finally achieved the peace that the people of the great shinobi nations wished for. Although there were still small bands of bandits across the nations, they were considered minor threats.

In the Village of Konohagakure, two figures were walking down the streets of their village. They manage to blend into the crowds easily, but any onlooker could tell from the Headbands they wore that they were Konoha Shinobi.

One stood at about 5'9" and had spiky crimson red hair that had been pulled into a long ponytail that fell to the back of her knees with a pair of bangs framing her attractive heart shaped face that bore cerulean blue eyes and a trio of whisker marks on each cheek. She was currently dressed in a long black sleeveless overcoat that had red flames licking at the bottom of and the Kanji for 'Crimson Flash' embroidered on the back. Underneath that was a Jonin's Flack Vest that was over top a tight armored fishnet shirt with a black miniskirt that had a pair of belts, one set regularly and the other held at a 45 degree angle to the first. Topping the outfit off was a pair of 3" heeled shinobi sandals and a set of beads wrapped around her right arm.

This was Naru Uzumaki, the Jinchuriki of the Kyuubi no Kitsune, daughter of the 'Yellow Flash' Minato Namikaze and the 'Red-Hot Blooded Hanebero' Kushina Uzumaki.

The other stood at about 5'7" and had flowing dark brown hair tied into a ponytail that fell down to her waist. Her face was also rather attractive, and bore amethyst colored eyes. She was clad in a purple sleeveless overcoat of her own, with a golden, black-trimmed crest that almost resembled a geometrically-designed flame embroidered on the back, with the Kanji for "Amethyst Flame" embroidered underneath it. Under the overcoat, she wore an oufit similar to Naru's, except she had no beads, only one belt, and had a Katana in its sheath strapped to said belt.

This was Hitomi Yamato-Shiba, Naru's closest friend, lover, and teammate, as well as a swordswoman on par with the Seven Swordsmen of Kiri, and one of the greatest prodigies in the use of Fire-Element Jutsu in all the Elemental Nations, possibly even superior to the nearly-extinct Uchiha Clan. Her older brother, Takeshi Shiba-Yamato, was a Samurai who had been assigned to Konoha after Naru and Hitomi's first Chuunin Exams.

"Mou~" Naru said in a near whine, as she walked, her hands linked behind her head. "I know I really shouldn't say this… but these missions have been so-o-o boring!"

"I agree," Hitomi remarked. "Compared to fighting Tobi, Madara, and the Akatsuki, going back to standard missions is a lot easier, to the point where I find myself wanting a real challenge, again."

Naru sighed again as she looked up into the clear sky above them. "It was a hard fight..." She whispered quietly. "Neji-san and so many others died… but… I guess we did it, didn't we?"

"Yeah, we did," Hitomi whispered back. "We managed to stop Tobi from enslaving the world with his Moon's Eye plan, and stopped Madara from his plans of world conquest. I hope the Elemental Nations will enter into a new era of peace, with the only real threats being Missing-Nin and Bandits… but I still crave that feeling of facing a challenge, you know what I mean?"

Naru nodded, a serious look on her face. "I know exactly what you mean, Hito-chan," She whispered quietly. "We can't allow ourselves to become complacent, we must always be vigilant to prevent another Madara from being risen up..."

"Then perhaps… it's time for us to begin seeing the full majesty of the world, Naru, Hitomi," A voice declared from behind them. Turning, they saw a man who looked to be in his mid-to-late twenties with short cropped brown hair, his left eye was covered by an eyepatch, a wound received from his one on one battle with Madara Uchiha before the revived Hirashima Senju took over fighting the legendary Uchiha. He was wearing a black muscle shirt underneath a customized jonin's vest that looked thinner than usual with more scroll pouches than normal. His woodland camo pants were tucked into his black combat boots and all across his visible body was a scrawling tribal like tattoo that was actually considered to be one of the greatest masterworks of a seal, something that Madara himself had praised in their battle. "Tsunade-sama is calling for us, a mission is waiting."

"A mission?" Hitomi asked, curious. "Well, I hope it's at least a B-Rank. D-Ranks and C-Ranks are a bit too easy now. Honestly, though, I'd prefer an A-Rank, even if those are rather rare."

"SS-rank, beyond that I cannot say more," Ryu informed, causing the pair to freeze as they stared at their sensei, whose own face was completely serious. "Tsunade-sama will explain everything."

The two lovers shared a look with each other before following their sensei to the Hokage Tower where their mission laid in wait.

* * *

**Meanwhile - Hokage's Office**

* * *

Sitting in one of the chair's of the Hokage's office was a young man, who stood at about 5'11 with short spiked black hair and Crimson Red eyes, with a small scar running just under his right eye. He was wearing an older variant of the Konohagakure Flak Jacket, looking to be based on the Second Shinobi world war Variant with added leather shoulder pads, with a red short-sleeve T-Shirt under his jacket, and knee-high black shorts, black Shinobi sandals, black fingerless gloves, and his Hai-ate tied around his forehead on a red cloth. Strapped on his back were a pair of Dual Dao Swords in an X pattern. "Hope they get here soon," the figure said. "It's not everyday you get called in for a SS Mission."

"I know," said another man who was standing by the wall, standing at 5'11" with dark brown hair in a buzzcut, a bushy moustache the same color as his hair, amethyst eyes, and a scar running diagonally from the bridge of his nose down across his left cheek. He was clad in a bright red short-sleeved T-Shirt and black Pants, underneath a Bright Red Sleeveless Overcoat, with the same Crest as the one on Hitomi's and the Kanji for Fire embroidered on its back. He also had a golden belt with a circular buckle, a pouch on the right hip containing a rectangular device that was red with black and gold trim, and on the left hip was a sheath for a katana sword that many people might consider odd in shape. "Still, I'd imagine that Hitomi-Imouto and Naru-san were out walking in the village, so it could take some time for Ryu-san to find them."

The black-haired Shinobi nodded at that. "True," he said, looking at Tsunade who sat before them both behind the desk with her assistant Shizune. "So, what is it with the mission anyways that ranks it Double S?" He asked.

"You will find out once the others arrive," Tsunade said, "I'd rather not have to tell the same story twice."

"It's gotta be a big one, if you're sending your A-team for this one, Tsunade-sama." Ryu announced as he walked in with his two students. "Ryu Hisanaga with Naru Uzumaki and Hitomi Yamato-Shiba as ordered Hokage-sama."

Tsunade smiled and nodded "Good, you're all here," she said, before she let out a small sigh. "I won't lie to you… this is an extremely risky mission… even with your skills, I cannot guarantee any of you will come back alive from it. I was tempted to rank it as Triple S Ranked, but I think Double S gets the point across."

Naru rose an eyebrow at her declaration. "What is it, Baa-chan?" she asked, tilting her head to dodge the paperweight Tsunade threw at her from the jab at her age. "Why is it so dangerous?"

The Fifth Hokage sighed, shaking her head for a moment before she stood up. "You remember the mission to help the Nomadic Villagers find their missing pet, which caused you to make contact with Haido's knights?" She asked, causing all of them to blink in surprise.

"You mean the one where we ended up finding the Gelel Stone?" Naru asked for confirmation. "What about them? DId we get word from them or something?"

Tsunade shook her head. "No," she said. "However, the fact that they existed revealed to us a chilling fact that many in the elemental nations have been ignoring for many years. That there are other nations out there that are not connected to the Shinobi Nations. We have always lived believing there was nothing else out there in the world… but Haido's Knights proved us wrong, and also showed us that what we don't know can hurt us."

"Basically, you want us to go on an exploration mission, see what else is out there," Takeshi Shiba-Yamato remarked. "Am I right?"

Tsunade nodded. "Exactly," she said. "The information that Temujin gave us was scarce - much information of the world outside the elemental nations died with Haido when you killed him Naru-chan, so anyone going out there would essentially be going in blind, with no knowledge of the lands beyond our own."

"So then, a first response team is perfect for this type of mission," Ryu said in realization. "We can adapt to the situation as necessary with minimal resources."

"Plus, we're all powerful enough in our own unique ways that we can defend ourselves if we run into trouble," Takeshi added.

"We each can summon should we need to send messages back here as well, not to mention me and sensei are trained in the sage arts as well." Naru pitched in before pointing a thumb at her stomach. "Plus Kura-chan is one hell of an ace in the hole."

"I've been wanting to see what's outside the Elemental Nations forever, Hokage-sama," Jaden Takeo said with a smirk, "This is a golden opportunity for me, count me in."

Ryu looked over to his three student with a raised eyebrow getting three confident nods in return. "First Response Team Theta accepts this mission Hokage-sama;"

Tsunade smiled a bit as she then handed Ryu documents for the mission "These are the specifics of the mission," she said. "You have 48 hours to leave, and make way for Wave Country. I had contacted them in advance, and have a ship specifically reserved for you all."

Ryu snapped off a salute. "Understood, Hokage-sama!" He responded before turning to the others. "You all have four hours to pack everything for this trip, we will not be returning for a very long period of time so do not be stingy with your packs or sealing scrolls. When you are finished with your packing and goodbyes, meet me at the front gate."

The three Shinobi saluted in return. "Hai, Sensei!" They all shouted, as they Sunshin'd away to pack their things, leaving just Ryu, Takeshi and Tsunade.

Tsunade sighed. "I won't lie Ryu, Takeshi," she said, "This could be the most dangerous mission anyone in the Shinobi nations have done..."

Ryu surprised his superior as he let out a deep laugh in response to her worry. "Tsunade-sama, you seem to forget just who we are," he informed with a large grin on his face. "You have the Crimson Flash, Amethyst Flame, Red Tiger Dragon, Flame Samurai, not to mention myself. the one who Madara named Raijin. If anything, worry for the poor souls who attack us."

Tsunade chuckled a bit at that. "True," she said. "All I can do now is say be careful… and good luck."

Ryu lifted his hand in a salute before he disappeared with a static like sound.

Takeshi nodded, before walking out of the room.

* * *

**Later - Jaden's House**

* * *

Jaden was quick to begin packing up everything in his house using all of the Storage Scrolls he had. Every last scrap of food, supplies, extra Kunai, weapons, even some more personal items since he knew he probably would be coming back here for a while.

'Finally leaving the Elemental Nations all together...' he thought to himself, as he sealed the last of his supplies into a Storage Scroll, which he placed into his backpack with everything else. 'Can't believe I'm actually gonna miss this place.'

As he put on his backpack, he looked around his old house, the same house his parents used, and the house he has lived in since he was a Genin. Jaden sighed before he walked out the front door, and locked the door before he left to meet with the others.

* * *

**Meanwhile - Naru and Hitomi's House**

* * *

"Hard to believe we're leaving the Elemental Nations," Hitomi remarked, sealing everything she thought she might need into Storage Scrolls Naru had made for her - things like food, bedding, clothes, and plenty of spare Kunai. "And we probably won't be coming back for a while, if at all. You nervous at all, Naru-chan?"

Naru paused in the middle folding up one of her various outfits and pondered the question for a minute. "Not particularly no… if anything, I'm curious," she informed seriously. "I wonder… what is there for us beyond the ocean?"

"Who knows?" Hitomi replied. "It could be just about anything - from people who practice arts completely different from Ninjutsu, to creatures beyond our wildest imaginations."

There was a small moment of silence as both of them pondered this.

"One thing I do know, however," Hitomi said as she walked over to Naru. "No matter what happens and what we face, I will always be by your side." She then pulled Naru into a kiss.

Naru smiled into the kiss as she held her lover close to her. "Thank you, Hito-chan," she whispered when they separated. "I'm glad you've always been there for me."

"And I promise that I will always be there for you, Naru-chan," Hitomi whispered in reply. "I'll never leave your side." She then parted from Naru. "Come on, we should probably hurry if we don't want to keep the others waiting."

Naru nodded with a smile as she slung her pack onto her back and followed her lover out of their apartment.

* * *

**Meanwhile - Takeshi's Apartment**

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Takeshi once again gave silent thanks to whomever came up with the idea of Sealing Scrolls in the first place - they were just incredibly handy. Yes, Symbol Power was similar to Seals, and could do a wide variety of things, but no one in any of the Samurai Clans from his mother's home dimension had ever found a way to use Symbol Power to actually store items.

As he finished sealing all the clothes, bedding, food, and other materials he might need, he looked at a picture resting on a desk. The picture was of a man who looked like an older version of him without the moustache, a woman who looked like an older version of Hitomi with short blonde hair, Takeshi when he was 9, and Hitomi when she'd just been born. The picture had been taken just before the Kyuubi Attack, where his father had been killed, his mother injured such that she died a few years later, and Hitomi separated from them to be raised in an Orphanage.

'Tou-san… Kaa-san...' Takeshi thought, even as he took some special disks from on top of the table and placed them in the buckle of his belt, along with some extra equipment he placed on other pouches on the same belt. 'I'm heading out on another mission again… one that seems like it might be even more dangerous than the last war. Please watch over me from wherever you are… and help me to continue to uphold the ideals of both the Shiba and Yamato Clans.'

With that, he headed out to meet with the others.

* * *

**Hisanaga Clan Grounds**

* * *

"So… you're really going to be gone for a while, huh, Ryu-nii..." A voice said from behind Ryu as he was occupied sealing away all of his notes and research for his specialty in Fuuinjutsu. Looking over his shoulder he spotted his adoptive younger brother Sasuke Uchiha standing in the doorway, an unreadable expression on his face.

He had taken in the Uchiha shortly after the Uchiha massacre, he had to make a direct request from the Hokage at the time, Sarutobi Hizuren, stating that as Itachi's former teammate Sasuke knew and was comfortable with him and that leaving him in the compound where his family was killed would be horribly scarring for the young academy student.

And as the leader of the shinobi village, Sarutobi agreed with Ryu's assessment and overrode the Civilian Councils decision and placed the Uchiha with Ryu.

Ryu smiled at his adopted brother as he walked over and placed a hand on his head scruffing up his hair causing the Uchiha to scowl at him. "Don't worry, Ototo," he assured with a calm grin. "I'll be just fine, you worry about all those marriage proposals you seem to keep getting."

It was an interesting sight to see the last surviving Uchiha both scowl in anger and pale in fear at the same time from a single statement. Ever since the end of the war Sasuke had been getting bombarded by marriage proposals almost continuously due to the fact that he was now able to take up his position as Clan Head of the Uchiha and begin to repopulate his clan, something that many of his Fangirls were eager to participate in.

"I am so glad I got you to set up the security seals around the compound and not that idiot that the Council was going to have do it," Sasuke muttered with a shudder. "Just… make sure you come back alive, okay, Aniki?"

"Don't worry, Ototo," Ryu repeated as he sealed his final notebook and placed the scroll into a holster on his vest. "This is me we're talking about."

Sasuke sighed and shook his head before smirking. "Right, I forgot, I'll be sure to pray for you soon to be deceased soul then," he stated cheerfully, making the older male's eye twitch.

"Brat." Ryu muttered.

"Baka." Sasuke countered.

"Emo."

"Sadist."

"Thief."

"Rageaholic!"

"Duck Butt!"

"Cyclops!"

"Party Pooper!"

"Drunkard!"

Ryu suddenly grinned as he placed a hand on Sasuke's shoulder. "Love ya, brat," he said. "Keep yourself safe, y'hear?"

"Same to you, baka," Sasuke said, a smile on his own face. "Make sure you have a girlfriend when you come back."

"Hey I still get more tail than you without even trying, Virgin!"

"S-shuttup!"

* * *

**Shortly After- Konoha Gate**

* * *

Jaden looked back at the large gates of Konoha with a small sigh. "Gonna miss this place..." he said. "When do you think we're ever gonna come back?"

"In time we will," Ryu assured as he looked back, a fond, nostalgic look in his lone eye. "But first… we gotta make sure we see as much as we can of this new world before us."

"Indeed," Takeshi remarked. "We've got new adventures in store, with little idea what they may hold. Things definitely aren't going to be dull for us any time soon."

Naru grinned widely, pumping one of her fists into the air. "Man I am so excited!" She shouted happily. "I wonder if they have any new Ramen recipes across the ocean?"

Hitomi chucked. "Most likely, Naru-chan," she said. "Though I'm also kinda looking forward to seeing if they have any kinds of food we've never tried before."

"Well, let's get going then!" Jaden shouted, grinning as he pointed forward "Onward to ADVENTURE!" And with that, he comically dashed forward down the road.

Ryu sighed as with a flick of his wrist he summoned a large ordinate recurved longbow with an arrow notched. Drawing back the string he fired off an arrow, and after a few second a loud 'thwok' was heard, soon followed by Jaden cursing.

"And that, kids, is why you do not rush ahead of Ryu-sensei, he will pin you to a tree," Naru commented with a sweatdrop. "It really is something else how accurate he is with that bow with only one eye and no depth perception."

"What the hell was that for?" Jaden shouted in the distance.

"Rushing ahead like the moron you are, idiot!" Ryu shouted back as he stalked forward. Muttering under his breath about idiot students who run right into ambushes without even realizing it. "Don't make me aim for your ass next time!"

* * *

**The Next Day - Wave Country**

* * *

It only took them a day's walk to arrive at Wave Country. After a brief visit to Tazuna and his family, they found themselves boarding the ship that had been specially made for their mission. It wasn't necessarily large, but it was big enough to hold all of the supplies Wave had given them, but small enough so only the five of them were needed to operate the ship… with some help with Shadow Clones.

"We need to come up with a name," Jaden said, as they stood on the docks looking at their new ship which sat before them waiting. "I heard it's bad luck to board a ship that isn't named yet… any ideas?"

"Elsa, maybe?" Takeshi ventured. "No particular reason, I just think that name works."

"The Elsa works." Ryu said from his position near the helm where a secured table held their maps and charts of the sea surrounding the Elemental Nations. "Hitomi, how is the supply check?"

"The supplies are all loaded, Sensei!" Hitomi replied. "I think we have enough for about 6 months here, 9 if we wanted to be really conservative!"

"Plenty of food and water then." He said as he stared at the charts and maps they had. "Now then, which way should we go?"

"I say we start by going east," Jaden suggested, pointing to the map. "We should go along the shores for a bit, before we leave the whole Elemental Nations behind us." he then smiled a bit "So, what do you think is gonna be out there?"

"Could be anything," Takeshi remarked, just before what looked like a small robotic phoenix flew in, landing on his shoulder. "But whatever it is, I know we'll be able to deal with it in some way."

"Let's see, I took on Madara, single handed, you three took on the Juubi," Ryu said, pointing to the younger three. "And you fought the crazy Obito," he continued, pointing to Takeshi. "Yeah, I think we got this covered."

"Then let's get going!" Jaden said grinning, before there were several poofs of smoke around him as a dozen Kage Bunshins of him appeared "Alright, let's get this ship ready to set sail you guys!"

Ryu sighed as he took position at the helm, a chart in hand as he started to trace a route for them to take before looking up into the sky, eying the movements of the clouds. "The wind is with us for now, Naru, be ready to use some Suitons to get us moving if neccesary."

Naru nodded, making a few Kage Bunshins of her own, even as Hitomi made a few as well. "What should I do, Sensei?" Hitomi asked.

"Eyes forward, Hitomi," Ryu ordered. "Aside from me, you have the sharpest eyes and you are the only one I taught Kami Shiryoku no Me (Eyes of Divine Sight) to, so you will be watching for any obstacles."

"Understood," she replied, before she and her Kage Bunshins moved to the bow.

"Anything you need me or my Symbol Power for, Ryu?" Takeshi asked.

Ryu thought for a minute. "Not yet," he informed. "We may need it when the wind dies down to create some air pressure to get us moving again, but… for right now, no."

"I'm all set up here!" A voice shouted above, as they looked and saw Jaden now in the crow's nest of the main mast of the ship. "I say we take shifts up here, it's a nice view, but it's already pretty breezy here." He then blinked "Say, we've got fishing supplies, right? 'Cause it may be awhile before we see land again, and we could run out of food before then. We might need to fish for more food from the ocean."

"In the storage room," Ryu informed. "Believe me, Tsunade-sama spared no expense with this expedition, we even have an armory below deck."

"Sounds good!" he shouted back down. "I just hope we're not over-stocked, I plan on bringing back stuff we find. I can only imagine what kind of weapons and foods other nations might have!" He then grinned. "They might even have a new type of Ramen that's even better than what's in the Elemental Nations!"

"That's part of why we have extra storage scrolls," Naru replied, even as she drooled slightly at the thought of Ramen. "If we want to bring anything back, we can just put it in a Storage Scroll for ease of transport."

"Right," He said, as he pulled out one scroll. "Now, I'm gonna work on setting this stuff up… " he unsealed the scroll, revealing a computer, and other technical equipment including a satellite dish, a T.V screen and cassette player. "Gonna set up this gear here, I brought some movies with us, I have a feeling we're gonna get bored pretty quick, and I'm gonna try and make a long-range wireless radio out of this..." (117Jorn AN: Before anyone says ANYTHING, Naruto Universe does in fact have computers, T.V's and all of that. You know it, and I know it.)

Ryu sighed as he shook his head. "Just don't go overboard, Jaden," he ordered. "I want this ship in one piece while over open water."

"I will!" he said, as he got to work. "Gonna install those Kunai Launchers… finally found out how Sora no Kuni and Yukigakure made those damn things! Once those are installed, people will hopefully think twice before even thinking of attacking us!"

"Nice," Takeshi replied. "Well, we've got a long haul ahead of us. Might as well get to work."

"Definitely," Ryu agreed as he grabbed hold of the helm. "Alright, unfurl the sails! We are embarking!"

And so, as the sails unfurled and the wind began propelling them on their journey, the group settled in, ready for whatever they may face once they reached their destination.

Whatever that destination might be…

**TO BE CONTINUED...**

**117Jorn: And there you have it, the beginning of our one shot/multi-shot fic. Basically what will happen, is that this one-shot will branch off into different fics, as different crossovers with different series. Some of these crosses include, but are not exclusive to, Fairy Tail, Dragon Age, Full Metal Alchemist, and others.**

**DragonKnightRyu: So many different ideas and possibilities before us… also, don't be afraid to suggest something either, we may even use your idea…**

**Takeshi Yamato: However, please try to keep it fairly low-tech-nothing Space-Faring, unless you can come up with a decent premise. And try and keep the giant robot suggestions to a minimum, because Takeshi Shiba-Yamato is the only one who could fight against Giant Robots on even terms.**

**Dragonknightryu: So Jorn, what is the first Crossover we're gonna work on?**

**117Jorn: I'll sum it up in one hint… TITAAAAAAN!**

**Takeshi Yamato: *Sweatdrop* I think that's a dead giveaway, Jorn…**

**117Jorn: Exactly! So, until next time everyone…**

**Everyone: Ja NE!**


End file.
